In general, appliances for use in teeth whitening are well known. These include mouthpieces, strips and in particular teeth whitening trays, all of which are adapted to receive teeth whitening gel. The appliance is then applied to the teeth for a selected period of time in order to accomplish teeth whitening. The teeth whitening gel itself can be any one of various known compositions, and does not form a part of the present invention.
None of the known teeth whitening appliances have a structure to seal the perimeter of the appliance. Hence, present teeth whitening appliances, for instance a tray, allow saliva to intrude into the tray and thus dilute or wash the gel from the tray, reducing the whitening effect of the gel in the tray. Further, the lack of a seal on such appliances also allows the gel to seep out from the appliance. Since the teeth whitening gel used typically contains peroxide, this can result in irritation of the gums, as well as an undesirable taste.